BANKING ON THOSE NERVES OF STEEL
MOST nights, when he’s not competing, Robbie Chilcott will leave his gardening job and spend a few hours training on the billiard table in his Armstrong Creek home.
The Geelong powerhouse began putting his energy into the sport four years ago and at age 48 received his first invitation to the World Billiards Championships, to be held in Melbourne from today.
The championship has been played for since 1870, and returns to Melbourne for the first time since the legendary Walter Lindrum won the title in 1934.
Chilcott plays competition twice a week, in Geelong for Shell and in Melbourne for Yarraville, and has won eight Geelong championships.
“I have been on and off for a few years since I was 18 … I’ve never had any coaching, I’ve just picked it up as I’ve gone along,” he said.
“I just hope to play well and be competitive, I won’t be the best and I won’t be the worst either. All I ever want is to perform at my best and let the result take care of itself.”
Chilcott will face a tough task breaking out of his group when he runs into past world champions Mike Russell of England and India’s Rupesh Shah. But he said he was pleased to have taken the steps he has in the sport and built his self belief.
“I’ve learnt I probably should have branched out much earlier,” he said.
“I never had any desire to branch out and play international events.”
“I’ve learnt I was actually a better player than I gave myself credit for, in this game you’ve got to have a steely nerve and self-control.
“There’s a lot of mental pressure. It’s easy to stuff up when there’s a lot of people watching, but I’ve learnt to control my nerves and not listen to negative thoughts.”